Digital Procedure Transfer via Instructional Block Substitution

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current manufacturing processes face challenges in efficiently transferring and implementing digital procedures across a network of facilities due to differences in equipment, operator expertise, and environmental conditions, leading to inefficiencies and increased reliance on manual review and approval.

Innovation Solution

A method that involves accessing an instructional block library to identify verified blocks analogous to unverified blocks in new digital procedures, calculating transfer scores based on manufacturing inputs, and autonomously replacing or modifying instructional blocks to ensure compatibility and safety across facilities, reducing the need for extensive manual review.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If digital procedures are transferred across manufacturing facilities, then operational consistency and compliance are improved, but differences in equipment, operator expertise, and environmental conditions create implementation challenges

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperational consistencyVSAvoidfacility-specific compatibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The digital procedure is segmented into discrete instructional blocks that can be independently evaluated and transferred. Each block represents a modular unit of instruction that can be assessed for compatibility with target facility conditions without requiring transfer of the entire procedure set.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system evaluates and adjusts procedural parameters based on facility-specific conditions including equipment capabilities, operator expertise levels, and environmental factors. This allows the same core procedure to be adapted to different facilities while maintaining operational consistency through controlled parameter modifications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If manual review and approval processes are used for transferring digital procedures, then compliance and safety are ensured, but transfer efficiency and speed are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecompliance assuranceVSAvoidprocedure transfer efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs self-evaluation of instructional blocks for compliance and safety before transfer. Automated assessments check whether procedural requirements are met and identify necessary adaptations, reducing dependence on extensive manual review while maintaining compliance assurance through systematic self-checks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback on the compatibility and compliance status of each instructional block, enabling automated decision-making about transfer approval. This feedback mechanism replaces time-consuming manual reviews with rapid automated assessments that maintain compliance standards.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If extensive manual review is conducted for each instructional block, then accuracy and appropriateness are improved, but time consumption and resource requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinstructional block evaluation accuracyVSAvoidreview time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Manual mechanical review processes are replaced with automated computational systems that evaluate instructional blocks. The automated system uses algorithms to assess compatibility, accuracy, and appropriateness of each block, maintaining evaluation precision while eliminating time-consuming manual intervention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary automated evaluation of instructional blocks before they require human review. By pre-assessing compatibility and identifying potential issues beforehand, the system reduces the scope and time of subsequent manual review while maintaining high accuracy standards.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20240273430A1Method for transferring digital procedures within a corpus of manufacturing sites

Publication Date: 2024.08.15 APPRENTICE FS INC

AI summary

A method for transferring digital procedures across a manufacturing network includes: accessing an unverified instructional block in a new digital procedure for staging at a facility; accessing a set of verified instructional blocks associated with approved digital procedures performed at the first facility; detecting a set of manufacturing inputs in the unverified instructional block; correlating an equipment input with an equipment unit located at the first facility; and correlating an action input with an action prompt related to the first equipment unit. The method also includes: identifying a verified instructional block, in the set of verified instructional blocks, as analogous to the unverified instructional block in response to the verified instructional block comprising manufacturing inputs associated with the equipment unit and the action prompt; and inserting the verified instructional block, in place of the unverified instructional block, in the new digital procedure.